Hundreds of people are planning to get arrested this summer in support of Palestine Action, documents reveal.
At least 500 demonstrators are preparing to sit in London for 60 minutes or “until arrest” on August 9 while holding signs which state: “I oppose Genocide. I support Palestine Action.”
The group was proscribed a terrorist organisation earlier this month by Yvette Cooper after the group claimed an action at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire which saw two Voyager aircrafts suffer damage.
Expressing support for Palestine Action can carry a prison sentence of 14 years following the Home Secretary’s decision.
An updated 15-page document titled “Lift the ban, De-proscribe Palestine Action” details the group’s plot to overwhelm police and the justice system until the Government is forced to reverse the ban.
It explains: “(The protest) will be a conditional commitment action, which means it will only go ahead if 500 people have committed to taking action on the same day.
“The intention is for a mass action on a scale that makes it almost impossible for the police to intervene.
“Although there’s a substantial risk of arrest, and all taking part should be prepared for that, the indications from the past three Saturdays are that the stakes for action-takers are relatively low, in comparison to the worst-case scenarios.
“No-one has yet been charged with an offence, and no-one has been remanded.”
Their stunt, which is scheduled for next month in the capital, would be the largest escalation in a series of protests that have taken place across the UK since the ban came into place on July 5.
Police chiefs embracing the Orwellian approach should think twice
More than 100 people opposing the decision to proscribe Palestine Action have been arrested across the UK over the last fortnight.
Robert Jenrick, the Shadow Justice Secretary, told the Daily Mail: “The Government simply cannot allow a proscribed group to overwhelm our justice system.
“Anyone assisting the group must face immediate justice. There can be no doubt in people’s minds: if they support a terrorist group, they will be punished.”
Lord Walney, a former Labour MP and extremism adviser, added: “People shouldn’t be duped — this stunt will do nothing to help Palestine but it will land you with a criminal record that could ruin your life.
“The police are doing their job but now need to act quickly to show there are serious consequences for supporting a proscribed group.”
A spokesman for Defend Our Juries, the group organising these stunts, said: “It's disgraceful that a Labour Home Secretary imagines that with a stroke of her pen, she can abolish our ancient freedoms.
“Visitors to Parliament Square, watching the Met's finest haul away priests and teachers for holding simple cardboard signs, opposing genocide, are wondering whether they've been misdirected to Tiananmen Square.”
The Metropolitan Police said: “While we would not go into the details of our approach, the public can be reassured that we will have a detailed plan in place to respond to any eventuality.
“Our officers will continue to apply the law in relation to Palestine Action as we have done over the past three weekends.”
